Varlamov, Caps shut out Habs 3-0
The Caps and Habs skated to a furious first period that saw a combined 5 penalties, 3 on Montreal and 2 on the Caps, but both clubs failed to register a power play tally. The Caps ended up scoring two even strength goals to head into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead. The first marker came at the 16:20 mark on a beautiful backhand goal by Jay Beagle (2). Beagle came from behind the net and took a backhander without even glancing at the net to go upper deck against and unsuspecting Carey Price. The Beagle goal was assisted by Eric Fehr and Matt Hendricks. The second goal came three minutes later on a terrific cross ice pass from Nicklas Backstrom to Mike Green (7), and Green lunged at the puck and put it past Price for a 2-0 Caps lead. Backstrom has the lone, primary assist. Another Caps goal, prior to the Green tally, was washed out by a quick whistle. Caps out shot the Habs 10-9 in the first period.
The Caps and Habs skated to a 0-0 in the second period. Caps put 11 shots on net while the Habs put 10 shots against Semyon Varlamov.
Washington out shot Montreal 8-6 in the third period, getting a late third period empty net goal by Alexander Ovechkin, his 14 of the season, to finish off the Habs 3-0. The Ovechkin goal was assisted by Karl Alzner. The name of this game though was Varlamov, recording his second shut out of the season, stopping all 25 shots on net. Varlamov was on his game tonight, making some spectacular saves in all three periods. The Caps power play was ill tonight, getting blanked on all 8 power lay opportunities, but the Washington penalty killers were a perfect 6 for 6. Caps did a helluva job suffocating Montreal as the third period wore on, a good sign for a team that seems to win by small margins.
Multi-Point Scorers: None
DCPSR Player of the Game: SEMYON VARLMOAV, shut out, stopping 25 of 25 shots
UPDATE: Tampa Bay Lightning have lost 4-3 to the Boston Bruins tonight, giving the Capitals sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division. Caps now lead with 49 points to the Lightning's 47 points.
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | OTL | POINTS |
| Capitals | 22 | 12 | 5 | 49 |
| Lightning | 21 | 10 | 5 | 47 |
| Thrashers | 19 | 14 | 6 | 44 |
| Hurricanes | 16 | 15 | 4 | 36 |
| Panthers | 16 | 17 | 1 | 33 |
